Ethan, George, Zeena, and Martha Living up to Social Standards
Just like George and Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, Ethan and Zeena fail to meet the social norm for marriage during their time period and failure to accept this fact results in the amplification of their problems. Martha treats George horribly and embodies such an arrogant, bold personality, in a sense taking the role of the man of the house, because George does not. She "wears the pants" because "somebody has to." Martha, no doubt influenced by the 1960's ideal of a 'perfect' family, is tortured by George's passiveness, and attempts to compensate for it by taking the role of the dominant male, which society propagated was part of a healthy, normal family. George's failure to be the man of the house prevents Martha from becoming the happy housewife. Likewise, Zeena does not follow the early 20th century role of a perfect, happy housewife. She is selfish and complains, a "fretter." Ethan, just like George, is passive, failing to be the man of the house. He lives in his dreams, and fails to act on his ambitions. The closest he ever gets to having guts is when he clenches a fist at Zeena as if to punch her, but she never feels (or even sees) his fist. Ethan and Zeena, just like George and Martha, cannot live openly as an atypical couple because society would shun them. They cannot divorce because society would shun that too. Pressure to meet the social standards which both couples fail results in extreme tension in their marriages, and, ultimately, is a key piece to the core of their communication issues.
Ethan, George, Zeena, and Martha Living up to Social Standards
Just like George and Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, Ethan and Zeena fail to meet the social norm for marriage during their time period and failure to accept this fact results in the amplification of their problems. Martha treats George horribly and embodies such an arrogant, bold personality, in a sense taking the role of the man of the house, because George does not. She "wears the pants" because "somebody has to." Martha, no doubt influenced by the 1960's ideal of a 'perfect' family, is tortured by George's passiveness, and attempts to compensate for it by taking the role of the dominant male, which society propagated was part of a healthy, normal family. George's failure to be the man of the house prevents Martha from becoming the happy housewife. Likewise, Zeena does not follow the early 20th century role of a perfect, happy housewife. She is selfish and complains, a "fretter." Ethan, just like George, is passive, failing to be the man of the house. He lives in his dreams, and fails to act on his ambitions. The closest he ever gets to having guts is when he clenches a fist at Zeena as if to punch her, but she never feels (or even sees) his fist. Ethan and Zeena, just like George and Martha, cannot live openly as an atypical couple because society would shun them. They cannot divorce because society would shun that too. Pressure to meet the social standards which both couples fail results in extreme tension in their marriages, and, ultimately, is a key piece to the core of their communication issues.